Chapter 10: The Promise
544 Words
Rain hammered against the mansion windows.
The words refused to leave Sofia's mind.
"Ask Luca... why your mother died in his arms."
She stepped onto the balcony before anyone could stop her.
"Luca!"
He turned immediately.
"Go back inside."
"No."
She walked toward him, ignoring the rain soaking through her clothes.
"Answer me."
Behind the gates, Dante watched in silence, his confident smile gone.
For the first time that night...
He wasn't provoking Luca.
He was waiting.
Sofia stopped only a few feet from Luca.
"My mother..."
Her voice trembled.
"Did she really die in your arms?"
Luca didn't answer.
His silence felt like a confession.
"Look at me," she whispered.
Slowly, he met her eyes.
"Yes."
The single word hit harder than any bullet.
Sofia took a step back.
"You knew her."
"Yes."
"You loved her."
Another pause.
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you save her?"
Luca closed his eyes briefly, as though the memory itself was painful.
"I tried."
His voice was barely audible.
"I wasn't strong enough."
For the first time since meeting him, Sofia saw something impossible.
Regret.
Not the regret of a criminal caught making a mistake.
The regret of a man haunted by one.
She wanted to ask more.
A hundred more questions.
But Luca spoke first.
"The woman in that portrait..."
He glanced toward the mansion.
"...was the bravest person I've ever known."
Sofia swallowed hard.
"Was she my mother?"
Luca hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Yes."
Tears filled Sofia's eyes.
She had spent twenty-four years believing her parents were ordinary people.
Now she was learning that strangers knew more about her mother than she did.
Behind the gates, Dante finally spoke.
"See?"
"I told you he was hiding the truth."
Luca's expression darkened.
"I've hidden nothing except what I promised to protect."
"A promise?" Dante laughed bitterly.
"Or your guilt?"
The air between the two men grew heavy.
This wasn't just hatred.
It was history.
Old wounds.
Old betrayals.
Luca stepped in front of Sofia, shielding her from the view of the gates.
His injured side protested with every movement, but he ignored the pain.
"I made Isabella one promise."
"That Sofia would never become part of this world."
Sofia stared at him.
"My mother knew you were in the mafia?"
"She knew exactly who I was."
"And she still trusted you?"
Luca answered without hesitation.
"With her life."
A loud c***k echoed through the night.
Not thunder.
A sniper's rifle.
The bullet tore through the air.
Luca reacted instinctively.
He pulled Sofia into his arms and turned his body.
The impact threw him backward.
He grunted in pain as the bullet struck his shoulder, only inches from his already injured side.
"Luca!" Sofia screamed.
Chaos erupted.
Guards rushed forward.
Gunfire exploded from both sides.
Sofia knelt beside Luca as blood spread across his white shirt.
His breathing was shallow.
She pressed her trembling hands against the wound.
"Stay with me."
Luca opened his eyes just enough to look at her.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"I told you..."
"...I'd keep you safe."
His eyes drifted toward the distant tree line.
"Find the sniper."
But before anyone could move, the sniper was already gone.
Somewhere in the darkness...
Someone had just declared war on both Luca and Dante.
- Writer
